Handmade Gifts from the Heart with Minki Kim

Posted by Minki Kim on Aug 30th 2019

I remember the very first handmade item gifted to me from my mom and dad: a gray indoor shoe bag for my first day of first grade. When I was a child in Korea, my classmates and I had to change from outdoor shoes to indoor shoes before entering the classroom. Everybody wore the same white cloth indoor shoes . . . Most kids brought a store-bought shoe bag with colorful cartoon characters, but mine was my parents’ collaboration. My dad sewed the bag with handles and my mom hand appliquéd a bunny from an old blanket to decorate the plain bag. I used it until I wore a hole in it. (Eventually I lost a pair of shoes through that hole!) Whenever I think of my shoe bag, I realize how much my parents loved me and how a young married couple tried to give a special gift to their first child. It took me 30 years to come to that realization.

Time has passed, and I am a mother of three children, just like my parents. Now I see myself in my daughter. She changes her lunch bag whenever I make a new one. Her best friend expects to receive something handmade on her birthday. Sometimes she even hints to my daughter about what she wants: “I want the same pencil case you have.” I think making things by hand is a very healthy habit that nurtures our busy lives. And, I have found that giving handmade gifts is addictive in a very good way.